The mediating role of low-grade inflammation on the prospective association between sleep and cognitive function in older men and women: 8-year follow-up from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Abstract Mass media research on the portrayal of older people has primarily focused on television series and advertisements. News programmes on television have received little attention. We argue that viewers perceive characters on the news as more direct and more accurate representations of social reality than fictional characters, and therefore portrayals on the news are more likely to be integrated in viewers’ stereotypes about elderly people or used as standards of comparison. In order to explore potential differences in the representation of senior men and women, we conducted a quantitative content analysis on a sample of 754 elderly people who appeared on the evening news programmes of four major Hungarian television channels with high viewership. Each character was coded in terms of 115 qualitative variables. Our results indicate that older men are portrayed significantly more often than women as affluent, elegant, knowledgeable, powerful and actively working. By contrast, women are more commonly shown as kind, family-oriented, in ordinary roles (e.g. as the ‘woman in the street’) and engaged in less-productive activities such as shopping. Based on previous research on the role of mass media in the socialisation process as well as social comparison theory, we discuss how these imbalances in the representation of older men and women may affect viewers of different age groups, genders and social status.

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Mean nocturnal respiratory rate predicts cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older men and women

European Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1183/13993003.02175-2018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 1802175 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mathias Baumert ◽

Dominik Linz ◽

Katie Stone ◽

R. Doug McEvoy ◽

Steve Cummings ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Osteoporotic Fractures ◽

Older Men ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sleep Study ◽

Men And Women ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

The Relationship ◽

Older Men And Women

Respiratory frequency (fR) predicts in-hospital and short-term mortality in patients with a variety of pathophysiological conditions, but its predictive value for long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the general population is unknown. Here, we investigated the relationship between mean nocturnal fR and mortality in community-dwelling older men and women.We measured mean nocturnal fR during sleep from overnight polysomnography in 2686 men participating in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS) Sleep study and 406 women participating in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) to investigate the relationship between mean nocturnal fR and long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.166 (6.1%) men in the MrOS cohort (8.9±2.6 years’ follow-up) and 46 (11.2%) women in the SOF cohort (6.4±1.6 years’ follow-up) died from cardiovascular disease. All-cause mortality was 51.2% and 26.1% during 13.7±3.7 and 6.4±1.6 years’ follow-up in the MrOS Sleep study and the SOF cohorts, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression analysis adjusted for significant covariates demonstrated that fR dichotomised at 16 breaths·min−1 was independently associated with cardiovascular mortality (MrOS: hazard ratio (HR) 1.57, 95% CI 1.14–2.15; p=0.005; SOF: HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.41–4.76; p=0.002) and all-cause mortality (MrOS: HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.04–1.32; p=0.007; SOF: HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.02–2.20; p=0.04).In community-dwelling older men and women, polysomnography-derived mean nocturnal fR ≥16 breaths·min−1 is an independent predictor of long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Whether nocturnal mean fR can be used as a risk marker warrants further prospective studies.

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Anxiety and the risk of death in older men and women

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.185.5.399 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 185 (5) ◽

pp. 399-404 ◽

Cited By ~ 84

Author(s):

Hein P. J. van Hout ◽

Aartjan T. F. Beekman ◽

Edwin De Beurs ◽

Hannie Comijs ◽

Harm Van Marwijk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gender Difference ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Older Men ◽

Community Based ◽

Men And Women ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Screening Design ◽

Older Men And Women

BackgroundThere are inconsistent reports as to whether people with anxiety disorders have a higher mortality risk.AimsTo determine whether anxiety disorders predict mortality in older men and women in the community Method Longitudinal data were used from a large, community-based random sample (n=3107) of older men and women (55–85 years) in The Netherlands, with a follow-up period of 7.5 years. Anxiety disorders were assessed according to DSM–III criteria in a two-stage screening design.ResultsIn men, the adjusted mortality risk was 1.78 (95% Cl 1.01–3.13) in cases with diagnosed anxiety disorders at baseline. In women, no significant association was found with mortality.ConclusionsThe study revealed a gender difference in the association between anxiety and mortality. For men, but not for women, an increased mortality risk was found for anxiety disorders.

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